What wins

We stand at a moment in our country’s history when elected officials need to decide if their purpose is to “win” or to get things done. Winning is more glamorous but in August, 216,000 Americans lost their jobs and maybe they need to know that the rest of us have noticed.

Last night President Obama delivered an extraordinarily comprehensive description of his vision for health reform. But as Congress returns from recess, contentious theater obscures the fact that the proposals under debate represent significant agreement on some core values:

— The goal that the US join the ranks of developed countries in extending coverage to all our citizens.

— Eliminating insurance practices many Americans find most egregious: ban the practice of denying coverage or charging dramatically higher prices for pre-existing conditions; no discrimination based on age or gender.

— Subsidies to people and families that need help affording insurance.

Don’t get me wrong, there are important issues on the table still to be debated–the public plan, an employer mandate, the size of the expansion and source of revenue. And these are issues worthy of serious debate.

But agreement on foundational values may well represent more than half the battle. This debate is as much about seeing the humanity in one another as it is about health care services. It is about saying there is a floor below which we will not allow our neighbors to fall.